How much money will you need to start your event planning business? That will depend on the cost of living in the area your business serves and whether you work from home or rent office space. It will also depend, to a lesser degree, on your own taste and lifestyle choices.
Keep in mind that while working from home will keep your costs low, you can't start any but the smallest of event planning business on a shoestring.
This chart lists the startup costs for two hypothetical event-planning services. The first business is homebased and has no employees. The high-end business occupies 500 square feet of office space. The owner/manager of this business employs a full-time junior planner and a part-time bookkeeper, as well as temporary employees who handle clerical work and who may help prepare for various events. Both owners will derive their income from pre-tax net profit. Annually, these businesses will gross $78,000 and $185,000, respectively. The startup table lists pre-opening costs for the businesses.
| Startup Expenses | Low | High |
| Rent | $0 | $2,300 |
| Equipment | $5,000 | $17,000 |
| Inventory | $0 | $500 |
| Licenses and Taxes | $250 | $350 |
| Communications | $100 | $250 |
| Payroll | $0 | $4,000 |
| Advertising/Promotion | $500 | $2,000 |
| Legal Fees & Accounting | $650 | $1,500 |
| Insurance (1st Quarter) | $800 | $1,700 |
| Miscellaneous | $750 | $1,500 |
| Total | $8,050 | $31,100 |
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